Driver Profiles | Photos | Racing Links | |
Discussion Board | Live Chat | News Archives | Advertising |
Weather |
Looney Tops I-44 UMP LateModel Main/Beckham Gets The 3-Peat LEBANON, MO (April 26) - Weather finally brought sunny skies and warm temps for racing action at the I-44 Speedway Sat Night and fans along with drivers were treates to great side-by-side action with over 85 race teams in the pits. In UMP LateModel action,Rusty Dukes and Larry Jones brought the field down to the green with Dukes grabbing the early lead with Jones,Justin Wells,Indiana's Rob Starkey and last week's winner Brad Looney following quickly.Starkey would slide up in turn 4 and get back on track causing a small jam-up collecting the cars of Jack Jones and LeRoy Johnson. On the restart,Dukes again took control while 2 time IMCA National Champion Wells was putting on pressure while Looney was making ground on the very top groove with Brandon McCormick now entering the lead pack along with defending I-44 champion Dustin Mooneyham and Darrell Mooneyham who started 15th in the feature.Dukes was staying down low while Looney rode the highbanks and Wells right behind them.On lap 14,Dustin Mooneyham spun in turn 4 bringing the caution.On the restart,again side by side,Dukes and Looney were battling with McCormick riding in third while Wells and Darrell Mooneyham were swapping spots.Looney grabbed the top spot on lap 16 and recorded his 2nd win of the season with Dukes,McCormick,Wells and Darrell Mooneyham in the top 5 while Rookie Chance Hines stagged a late race charge just outside the top 5 spots finishing 6th. The USRA Modifieds would see Mookie Cunningham earn the pole spot and bring the field to the green with Justin Neuman in hot pursuit followed closely by David Holder and a fast moving Terry Beckham who started 8th.On lap 4,Cunningham looped it in turn 4 as Neuman and Beckham raced back quickly to the stripe with Beckham edging out Neuman by a front bumper.On the restart Beckham who was going for 3 in a row jumped to the top groove while Neuman stayed down low while Holder was searching for a way around the lead duo.A couple of late cautions bunched the field-up for a 2 lap shootout as Neuman shot to the bottom as Beckham rode the top groove while the battle for 4th was tight with Bobbye Williams,Cunningham and Don Luna having a great battle.On the last lap,Neuman pulled along leader Beckham in turn 3,but Beckham powered ahead to record his third feature win in a row followed closely by Neuman,Holder,Williams and Luna. The B-Mods saw a new face in the winners circle and set the tone for excellent racing action.Derrick Peterson grabbed the opening lead with Brian Monnahan close behind followed by Tyler Brown.A couple of quick cautions would see front runners pit for accidents including Josh Woody who was going to 3 in a row also,Jason Otto and others.On the restart,Peterson had the bottom groove working very well in his Ford while Monnahan was working the top groove as Woody was charging through the pack.Out in front,Monnahan made the top side work and on lap 12 grabbed the lead from Peterson as Tyler Brown,Woody and a fast moving Jason Otto were battling for position.Perterson would try several attempts,but Monnahan would hold them off to grab his 1st win of the season before traveling overseas for work releated items.Peterson,Woody,Otto and Brown rounded out the field. The FactoryStocks feature would run clean and green as Lonnie Henderson grabbed the opening lead from pole setter Tim Riffle and never looked back in grabbing his second win of the season and first points victory with Riffle making his first start a solid second with point leader Kevin Crider making a strong run from the back of the field to finish third followed by Chad Smith and Matt Brookshire. The bomber feature saw a new face in the winners circle as Shawn Winfrey ended point leader Joe Francis streak at 2 by withstanding a mid-race challange by Mike Sloan in grabbing his first win of the season followed very closely by Rookie Tim Jones,Mike Willoughby,Partick West and Francis.The race was red-flagged once as John Darnell who was moving through the pack quickly ended up rolling his car on the frontstretch. The Rookie class saw a good race early as Greg Wall grabbed the early lead with Mike Staford taking control on lap 2 until problems sent him to the pits.From there Wall checked out from the field to grab his first win of the season followed by a hard charging Tom Powers,Dan Ash,Randy Starks and Les Hayes. The Missouri Legend Cars made there 1st start of the season and Tanner Berryhill of Oklahoma jumped out to the early lead and never looked back in grabbing the win while the race for second was tight with Justin Comer,Rob Watson,Park Jones and a fast moving Dave Comer rounding out the top 5. Up Next On Sat Night May 3rd the Popular World Of Outlaw LateModel Series will challange the MARS Series in a $10,000 to win feature event as drivers from 10 or more states will be on hand for there only scheduled apperance of the season at I-44.Support classes include B-Mods and Bombers racing for extra money along with point races for those classes. For more information on the Silver Anniversary of Racing at I-44 contact Randy Mooneyham at 417-224-7074 or visit the website at www.lebanonI44Speedway.net Results(Natures Best Pet Shops Night) UMP LateModels USRA Modifieds B-Mods Bombers FactoryStocks Rookies Legends |